Autumns Eyes Gives Album Update, Talks Mixing and Effects

One-band black metal outfit Autumns Eyes is current mixing the new album, "Please Deceive Me," and Dan Mitchell has issued an update about the process:

"As mixing began on the new release 'Please Deceive Me' I wanted to focus on two rules of thumb; breathe dynamics into each song so they each have a life of their own, and create sounds and effects naturally rather than using pre-recorded ones. When trying to add atmosphere to an Autumns Eyes song, I always shoot for the typical “night time crickets” sound or any number of free thunder clap sound effects you can download for free at just about every sound effects website. Its my way of establishing to the listener that this is where the music comes from and draws inspiration. Granted it can be some what cliche, but at least this time around its undergone a more organic process.

"Instead of using pre-recorded samples and sounds, I recorded my own right in the woods of Connecticut where both my studio and I reside. This gave a broader range of creativity and sonic possibilities right off the bat. While recording outside, I was able to capture my own reverb as well. If your not familiar with audio engineering, reverb is basically that “echo” sound you hear on instruments and vocals that give both atmosphere and depth to what you hear. Using Apple Logic Studio 9's Impulse Response Utility I was able to capture any environment I wanted in my own back yard. Basically the process started with a laptop, a pair of speakers, and a microphone. A frequency sweep is played through speakers in the woods where a microphone records the sweep and sends it into the laptop. The program then removes the audio frequency sweep, and captures the reverberation from the environment the sweep was played in. Now the reverb can be saved and later applied to any vocal/instrument/sound during the mixing process.

"It might sound like overboard to some and may even be used sparingly throughout the album, but its those subtle differences that make the end result more unique. One of my favorite albums of all time is 'October Rust' by Type O Negative, and its the small details of that record that give you a sense of atmosphere and emotion. From the bird chirps on the intro to 'Green Man', to the sounds of branches creaking and twisting during the beginning of 'Wolf Moon'. Adding such elements to your record make it more organic and memorable. In our age of digital recording, where especially in metal, it seems like a group of dogs chasing each others tails. There are a ton of bands just mimicking what the other is doing, and trying to cash in on it. Im not trying to break away from the genre with this release, but Im definitely trying to show people that there can be a broader range of sound in metal instead of just blast beats and screaming."